Friday’s game ended in impressive and terrible fashion for Indians outfielder Tyler Naquin, who was carted off the field with a knee sprain just moments after making a last-second grab at the wall. Naquin’s moment arrived in the fifth inning when, with two outs and a runner on first, Joey Wendle skied a ball out to the left field corner. The fleet-footed left fielder sprinted over to the corner to make the play and crashed into the wall at full speed, tumbling backwards onto the warning track as the catch was confirmed.
It was immediately clear that something was wrong. Naquin grimaced and clutched his leg, writhing in obvious pain until the Indians’ staff reached him with a medical cart. Unable to put any weight on his leg, he was carted off the field and replaced by Greg Allen for the remaining four innings.
Following the conclusion of the Indians’ 4-0 loss to the Rays, the club confirmed that Naquin had sustained a right knee sprain in the collision. How much time he’ll miss is still unknown, though it’s of some relief that the injury doesn’t appear to be more severe.
After exiting Friday’s game, Naquin holds a .288/.325/.467 batting line with 10 home runs and 34 RBI through 294 plate appearances in 2019. He went 1-for-2 with a double against the Rays.
Update: On Saturday, the Indians revealed Naquin suffered a torn ACL while making the play. He won’t play again in 2019, and it’s unclear what his timetable will look like in 2020.
